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Backflow Water Testing: What You Need to Know

What is backflow water testing? According to Phil Fabry, CEO of Clearwater Backflow services, explained that it is a process that is used to test your plumbing system to make sure that drinking water is not being contaminated by dirty water infiltrating the water supply.

by

Nicole Anderson

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If you are like most Utahns you know that you have clean water a.k.a. culinary water in the house. There are secondary water systems such as agriculture water that many homes across the state have as well. Most of us know that in Davis County or other rural areas you don’t drink from the hose because it is secondary water, which is not potable (drinkable) water. 

 So, what is backflow water testing? According to Phil Fabry, CEO of Clearwater Backflow services, explained that it is a process that is used to test your plumbing system to make sure that drinking water is not being contaminated by dirty water infiltrating the water supply.

According to the “The ICC/IPC standard Plumbing Code, section 608, a potable water supply system shall be designed, installed and maintained in such a manner so as to prevent contamination from non-potable liquids, solids or gases being introduced into the potable water supply through cross-connections or any other piping connections to the system.”

Living in Utah, we’ve been taught that everything flows downstream. Fertilizer left on the lawn, horse manure from your neighbors, and a variety of other contaminates that can be found in untreated, unfiltered water systems.

“A backflow prevention device is used to protect potable water supplies from contamination or pollution due to backflow” Fabry stated. In most water supply systems, water is normally maintained at a significant pressure to enable water to flow from the tap, shower, or other fixture. Reduced pressure in the pipe may allow contaminated water from the soil, from storage, or from other sources to be drawn up into the system.” 

Backflow water testing generally runs the average homeowner anywhere from $35 to $75. If you own a business, you can plan to pay up to $150 for a commercial building. If you don’t know if you need a test you can always schedule an appointment or contact a certified testing service to find out more information. Backflow water testing is important to preserve the best possible water quality for you and your family. 

Works Cited:

Clearwater Backflow Services. 2020.

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Nicole Anderson

Nicole Anderson is a communication professional and freelance writer. She holds a master’s degree in Strategic Communications from Westminster College and a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Studies from the University of Utah. She is a certified Utah Master Naturalist in Wetlands, and has spent many years researching the Great Salt Lake. Anderson co-founded the blog, Summer of Salt, where she spent three summers exploring the shorelines of Great Salt Lake. In 2010, Anderson was commissioned to write, “Patterns of Change” which documented bird and human usage in Bear River Bay, and she later had a role in the 2012 documentary, “Evaporating Shorelines.” Anderson teaches intercultural and interpersonal communication at Salt Lake Community College. She has written as a freelance author for ten plus years. Her stories and articles have appeared in Airboating Magazine, Gateway Magazine, Utah Stories, and Utah Life Magazine, among several other print and online publications. Anderson has a passion to protect landscapes and places that cannot speak for themselves.

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